Orchard Grass
Dactylis glomerata
Family Graminae

Characteristics:
* Flowers on short, stiff side branches.
* Flowers in irregular, rounded clusters.
* Rough texture.
* Height: 1 1/2-5'.

Natural History:
* Blossoms May-September.
* Habitat: Roadsides, fields, waste places.
* Range: Throughout the United States.
* Introduced from Europe, also native to South Africa.

Connections!
* Orchard grass was imported from Europe in the eighteenth century to be used as horse fodder.

* "Orchard grass of all others is in my opinion the best mixture with clover; it blooms precisely at the same time, rises quick again after cutting, stands thick, yields well, and both cattle and horses are fond of it in green or in hay."
-George Washington, 1732-1799